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Phazione McClurge first visited Cornell University, located in Ithaca, New York, in the winter, falling in love with the campus. “It was something like a Disney movie; it was beautiful, with huge waterfalls on campus.”

McClurge knew he wanted to play football and attend a prestigious university. “It’s a dual threat at Cornell; a very good education and high level football.”

Ivy League schools cannot award any athletic scholarships, and “with my mom being a single parent,” McClurge applied for all the scholarships and grants he could. The school was very helpful and guided him though the essay process, telling McClurge to talk about his struggles.

When McClurge visited the Big Red he talked with many football players. He liked the attitude of the players had about attending an Ivy League school. “The guys are just like me; they want to play football and get an education.”

McClurge will pursue a degree through the Samuel Curtis Johnson College of Business at Cornell, a highly ranked business school, according to economist.com. He plans on focusing on contract negotiation and hopes to go into a career in the NFL, if he doesn’t continue playing after college.

Whatever that future may hold, McClurge is “ready to go out and have new adventures.”

This is another in an ongoing mcccaravan.org series profiling college plans of the Class of 2017.